UT football: Gilbert outshining backups so far

AUSTIN — Two open practices are hardly enough to make any sweeping judgments about a quarterback. But from the four hours of workouts the public was allowed to watch at Royal-Memorial Stadium this week, there doesn’t seem to be a throw in the Texas playbook sophomore quarterback Garrett Gilbert can’t complete.

His backups, however, are still finding plenty of them.

While Gilbert looked like a cocksure veteran again on Thursday night, firing deep darts to John Chiles and Marquise Goodwin for touchdowns and continuing to regularly hook up with catch-everything darkhorse DeSean Hales, Connor Wood and Case McCoy had a more difficult time. The two true freshmen are the only two competitors for the Longhorns No. 2 quarterback job, and neither is pulling away.

During the opening session of 11-on-11 full-contact scrimmaging on Wednesday, Wood and McCoy each had a series with the second-string offense against the second-string defense. Neither completed a pass. Wood and McCoy combined for three interceptions Wednesday, albeit against one of the deepest secondaries in the country.

UT coaches have said they expect whoever wins the backup spot to receive a significant dose of playing time early in the season to avoid having to throw a completely inexperienced quarterback onto the field in case of a Gilbert injury. But with three weeks remaining before the season opener, the decision on who that player will be still seems a long way off.

Other notables from Wednesday’s practice — the last open one of the preseason — included:

Aaron Williams: The junior nickel back unleashed the hit of the day when he destroyed Mike Davis on a flare pattern and broke up a McCoy pass early in 11-on-11. In a defensive backfield loaded with talent, Williams has a chance to be the best.

Carrington Byndom and A.J. White: Defensive coordinator Will Muschamp said he’s been impressed by both freshman cornerbacks, who will provide depth behind starters Curtis Brown and Chykie Brown. White came down with an interception on a McCoy pass tipped by intended receiver Cody Johnson.

Offensive line: Even though UT doesn’t have an official depth chart, the Longhorns appear to have settled on a starting group of David Snow at center, Michael Huey and Mason Walters at the guards, and Kyle Hix and Britt Mitchell at the tackles. Thomas Ashcraft, Mark Buchanan, Paden Kelley, Garrett Porter, Dominic Espinosa and Trey Hopkins all worked with the second unit.

Creativity in the backfield: UT coach Mack Brown said freshman Demarco Cobbs still doesn’t have an official position, but he reeled off a couple of nice runs from the tailback spot. And after consulting with the Boise State coaching staff this offseason, the Longhorns unveiled a trick play in which Chiles — a former quarterback — took the ball on an end-around and fired a pass to an open James Kirkendoll down the right sideline.

Talking about agentsBrown released a statement confirming he was one of the coaches who talked to NFL commissioner Roger Goodell on a conference call concerning agents and their contact with college players.

“I was called and asked to be involved with a group of coaches that will look at some potential changes in dealing with agents in the future,” Brown’s statement said. “We understand that there are some great agents out there who do everything right, but like the universities and kids who have been affected across the country, even they’re being hurt by the ones who break the rules. We feel very good about our education program, but we also want to see if there’s some way within the rules that we can make it easier to manage agents as they relate to college football.”